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  • Cooperative vehicular systems: crossroad management through visible light
    Publication . Vieira, Manuel Augusto; Vieira, Manuela; Louro, Paula; Vieira, Pedro
    Information and communication technologies enable optoelectronic cooperative vehicular systems with bi-directional communication, where vehicles communicate with other vehicles, road infrastructures, traffic lights, and vulnerable road users. We use the concept of request/response for the management of a trajectory in a two-way-two-way traffic lights controlled crossroad, using visible-light communication (VLC). The connected vehicles receive information from the network (Infrastructure to Vehicle, I2V), interact with each other (Vehicle to Vehicle, V2V) and with the infrastructure (Vehicle to Infrastructure, V2I), using a request distance and pose estimation concept. In parallel, an intersection manager (IM) coordinates the crossroad and interacts with the vehicles (I2V) using the response distance and the pose estimation concepts. The communication is performed through VLC using the street lamps and the traffic signaling, to broadcast the information. Data are encoded, modulated, and converted into light signals emitted by the transmitters. Tetra-chromatic white sources are used, providing a different data channel for each chip. As receivers and decoders, SiC wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) devices, with light filtering properties, are considered. A simulated vehicle-to-everything (V2X) traffic scenario is presented, and a generic model of cooperative transmission is established. The primary objective is to control the arrival of vehicles to the intersection and schedule them to cross over at time instants that minimize delays. A phasing traffic flow is developed as a proof of concept (PoC). The simulated/experimental results confirm the cooperative VLC architecture. Results show that the communication between connected cars is optimized using a request/response concept and that pose analysis is an important issue to control driver’s behavior in a crossroad. The block diagram conveys that the vehicle’s behavior (successive poses) is influenced by the maneuver permission, by the I2V messages and also by the intersection redesigned layout and presence of other vehicles. An increase in the traffic throughput with least dependency on infrastructure is achieved.
  • Cooperative vehicular visible light communication in smarter split intersections
    Publication . Vieira, Manuel Augusto; Vieira, Manuela; Louro, Paula; Vieira, Pedro
    This paper addresses the issues related to the Visible Light Communication (VLC) usage in vehicular communication applications. We propose a Visible Light Communication system based on Vehicle-to-Vehicle, Vehicle-to-Infrastructure and Infrastructure-to-Vehicle communications able to safely manage vehicles crossing through an intersection leveraging Edge of Things facilities. By using the streetlamps, street lights and traffic signaling to broadcast information, the connected vehicles interact with one another and with the infrastructure. By using joint transmission, mobile optical receivers collect data at high frame rates, calculate their location for positioning and, concomitantly, read the transmitted data from each transmitter. In parallel with this, an intersection manager coordinates traffic flow and interacts with the vehicles via Driver Agents embedded in them. A communication scenario is stablished and a “mesh/cellular” hybrid network configuration proposed. Data is encoded, modulated and converted into light signals emitted by the transmitters. As receivers and decoders, optical sensors with light filtering properties, are used. Bidirectional communication between the infrastructure and the vehicles is tested. To command the passage of vehicles crossing the intersection safely queue/request/response mechanisms and temporal/space relative pose concepts are used. Results show that the short range mesh network ensures a secure communication from street lamp controllers to the edge computer through the neighbor traffic light controller with active cellular connection and enables peer-to-peer communication, to exchange information between V-VLC ready connected cars. The innovative treatments for the congested intersections are related with the introduction of the split intersection. In the split intersection a congested two-way-two-way traffic light controlled intersection was transformed into two lighter intersections which facilitate a smoother flow with less driver delay by reducing the number of vehicle signal phases. Based on the results, the V-VLC system provides direct monitoring of critical points including queue formation and dissipation, relative speed thresholds and inter-vehicle spacing, increasing safety.
  • Redesign of the trajectory within a complex intersection for visible light communication ready connected cars
    Publication . Vieira, Manuel Augusto; Vieira, Manuela; Louro, Paula; Vieira, Pedro
    To serve the changing needs of road traffic control, the road space and road structure surrounding an intersection have evolved into complex forms. The redesign of the trajectories, though complex, can be accomplished by the application of methods for navigation, guidance, and combination of expert knowledge of road traffic control of vehicles, using a concept of request/response in a two-way-to-way traffic light-controlled crossroad. The communication between the infrastructures and the vehicles (I2V), between vehicles (V2V), and from the vehicles to the infrastructures (V2I) is performed through visible light communication (VLC) using the street lamps and the traffic signaling to broadcast the information. Vehicle headlamps and taillights are used to transmit data to other vehicles or infrastructures allowing digital safety and data privacy. Data are encoded, modulated, and converted into light signals emitted by the transmitters. Tetra-chromatic white sources are used providing a different data channel for each chip. As receivers and decoders, silicon/carbon wavelength division multiplexer devices, with light filtering properties, are used. The primary objective is to control the arrival of vehicles to an intersection and schedule them to cross at times that minimize delays. A further objective is to allocate delays between left-turns and forward movements, moderating the speed and slot between vehicles traveling in these directions, maintaining a safe distance from one to another. Pedestrians and bicycles are incorporated. A I2V2V2I traffic scenario is established. A phasing traffic flow is developed as a proof of concept. The experimental results confirm the cooperative VLC architecture showing that communication between connected cars is optimized.
  • Indoor wayfinding using visible light communication
    Publication . Vieira, Manuela; Vieira, Manuel Augusto; Louro, Paula; Fantoni, Alessandro; Vieira, Pedro
    Optical wireless communication has been widely studied during the last years in short-range applications. This paper investigates the applicability of an intuitive wayfinding system in complex buildings using Visible Light Communication (VLC). Typical scenarios include finding places, like a particular shop or office, guiding users across different floors, through elevators and stairs. Data from the sender is encoded, modulated and converted into light signals emitted by the transmitters. Tetra-chromatic white sources are used providing a different data channel for each chip. At the receiver side, the modulated light signal, containing the ID and the 3D geographical position of the transmitter and wayfinding information, is received by SiC photodetector with light filtering and demultiplexing properties. Since lighting and wireless data communication is combined, each luminaire for downlink transmission become a single cell, in which the optical access point (AP) is located in the ceiling and the mobile users are scattered within the overlap discs of each cells underneath. The light signals emitted by the LEDs are interpreted directly by the receivers of the users positioned underneath. The effect of the location of the Aps is evaluated and a model for the different cellular networks is analyzed. Orthogonal topologies are tested, and a 3D localization design, demonstrated by a prototype implementation, is presented. Uplink transmission is implemented and the 3D best route to navigate through venue calculated. Buddy wayfinding services are also implemented. The results showed that the system make possible to determine the position of a mobile target inside the network, to infer the travel direction along the time and to interact with information received and to optimize the route towards a static or dynamic destination.
  • Trajectory redesign within a complex intersection for VLC ready connected cars
    Publication . Vieira, Manuel Augusto; Vieira, Manuela; Louro, Paula; Vieira, Pedro
    In order to serve the changing needs of road traffic control, the road space and road structure surrounding an intersection have evolved into complex forms. Using a new concept of request/response in a two-way-to-way traffic light controlled crossroad, the redesign of the trajectories can be accomplished by the application of methods for navigation, guidance and combination of expert knowledge of vehicle road traffic control. In this work, the communication between the Infrastructures and the Vehicles (I2V), between vehicles (V2V) and from the Vehicles to the Infrastructures (V2I) is performed through Visible Light Communication (VLC), using the street lamps and the traffic signaling to broadcast the information. Vehicle headlamps are used to transmit data to other vehicles or infrastructures, allowing digital safety and data privacy. Data is encoded, modulated and converted into light signals emitted by the transmitters. Tetra-chromatic white sources are used, providing a different data channel for each chip. As receivers and decoders, SiC Wavelength Division Multiplexer (WDM) devices, with light filtering properties, are considered. The primary objective is to control the arrival of vehicles to an intersection and schedule them to cross at times that minimize traffic delay. A further objective is to allocate delays between left-turns and forward movements, moderating the speed and slot between vehicles travelling in these directions, maintaining a safe distance from one to another. Pedestrians and bicycles are also incorporated. An I2V2V2I traffic scenario is proposed, and bidirectional communication between the infrastructure and the vehicles is tested, using the VLC request/response concept. A phasing traffic flow is developed as a proof of concept. The experimental results confirm the cooperative VLC architecture, showing that communication between connected cars and infrastructures can be optimized using the mentioned request/response concept. A significant increase in traffic throughput with the least dependency on infrastructure is achieved.
  • VLC-based geo-localization for automated logistics control using AVGs
    Publication . Louro, Paula; Rodrigues, João; Vieira, Manuela; Vieira, Manuel Augusto; Vieira, Pedro
    Increasing interest in indoor navigation has recently been generated by devices with wireless communication capabilities that enabled a wide range of applications and services. The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the inherent end-to end connectivity of billions of devices is very attractive for indoor localization and proximity detection. Other fields, such as, marketing and customer assistance, health services, asset management and tracking, can also benefit from indoor localization. Different techniques and wireless technologies have been proposed for indoor location, as the traditional Global Positioning System (GPS) has a very poor, unreliable performance in a closed space. The work presented in this research proposes the use of an indoor localization system based on Visible Light Communication (VLC) to support the navigation and operational tasks of Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AVG) in an automated warehouse. The research is mainly focused on the development of the navigation VLC system, transmission of control data information and decoding techniques. As part of the communication system, trichromatic white LEDs are used as emitters and a-SiC:H/a-Si:H based photodiodes with selective spectral sensitivity, are used as receivers. Through the modulation of the RGB LEDs, the downlink channel establishes an infrastructure-to-vehicle link (I2V) and provides position information to the vehicle. The decoding strategy is based on accurate calibration of the output signal. Characterization of the transmitters and receivers, description of the coding schemes and decoding algorithms will be the focus of discussion in this paper.
  • Dynamic VLC navigation system in crowded buildings
    Publication . Vieira, Manuela; Vieira, Manuel Augusto; Louro, Paula; Fantoni, Alessandro; Vieira, Pedro
    This paper investigates the applicability of an intuitive risk of transmission wayfinding system in public spaces, virtual races, indoor large environments and complex buildings using Visible Light Communication (VLC). Typical scenarios include: finding places, like a particular shop or office, guiding users across different floors, and through elevators and stairs. The system is able to inform the users, in real time, not only of the best route to the desired destination, through a route without clusters of users, but also of crowded places. Data from the sender is encoded, modulated and converted into light signals emitted by the transmitters. Tetra chromatic white sources are used providing a different data channel for each chip. At the receiver side, the modulated light signal, containing the ID and the 3D geographical position of the transmitter and wayfinding information, is received by a SiC optical sensor with light filtering and demultiplexing properties. Since lighting and wireless data communication is combined, each luminaire for downlink transmission becomes a single cell, in which the optical Access Point (AP) is located in the ceiling and the mobile users are scattered across the overlap discs of each cell, underneath. The light signals emitted by the LEDs are interpreted directly by the receivers of the positioned users. Bidirectional communication is tested. The effect of the location of the Aps is evaluated and a 3D model for the cellular network is analyzed. In order to convert the floorplan to a 3D geometry, a tandem of layers in a orthogonal topology is used, and a 3D localization design, demonstrated by a prototype implementation, is presented. Uplink transmission is implemented, and the 3D best route to navigate through venue is calculated. Buddy wayfinding services are also considered. The results showed that the dynamic VLC navigation system enables to determine the position of a mobile target inside the network, to infer the travel direction along the time, to interact with received information and to optimize the route towards a static or dynamic destination.
  • VLC ready connected cars: trajectory redesign inside an intersection
    Publication . Vieira, Manuel Augusto; Vieira, Manuela; Louro, Paula; Vieira, Pedro
    The redesign of the trajectories though complex, can be accomplished by the application of methods for navigation, guidance and combination of knowledge of road traffic control of vehicles. In this work the communication between the infrastructures and the vehicles, between vehicles and from the vehicles to the infrastructures is performed through Visible Light Communication (VLC) using the street lamps and the traffic signaling to broadcast the information. Vehicle headlamps and taillights are used to transmit data to other vehicles or infrastructures allowing digital safety and data privacy. Data is encoded, modulated and converted into light signals emitted by the transmitters. Tetra-chromatic white sources are used providing a different data channel for each chip. As receivers and decoders, SiC Wavelength Division Multiplexer (WDM) devices, with light filtering properties, are used. The primary objective is to control the arrival of vehicles to an intersection and schedule them to cross at times that minimize delays. A further objective is to allocate delays between left-turns and forward movements, moderating the speed and slot between vehicles travelling in these directions, maintaining a safe distance from one to another. Pedestrians and bicycles are incorporated. A Vehicleto-Everything (V2X) traffic scenario is stablished and bidirectional communication between the infrastructure and the vehicles is tested, using the VLC request/response concept. A phasing traffic flow is developed as a proof of concept. The experimental results confirm the cooperative VLC architecture showing that communication between connected cars is optimized using a request/response concept. An increase in the traffic throughput with least dependency on infrastructure is achieved.
  • Management of split intersections using vehicular visible light communication
    Publication . Vieira, Manuel Augusto; Vieira, Manuela; Louro, Paula; Vieira, Pedro
    Vehicle Communication Systems consist of vehicles and roadside units that communicate with one another in order to exchange information, such as traffic information and safety warnings. Split intersections are an innovative solution for congested urban areas. In this case, a congested two-way-two-way intersection is made into two lighter intersections. It facilitates a smoother flow with less driver delay, by reducing the number of conflict points and improving the travel time. Based on Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) and Infrastructure-to-Vehicle (I2V) communications, we propose a Visible Light Communication system that can safely manage vehicles crossing an intersection using Edge of Things facilities. The connected vehicles communicate with each other and with the infrastructure through visible light, by using headlights, street lamps, and traffic signals, In parallel, an intersection manager coordinates the traffic flow and interacts with the vehicles through internally installed Driver Agents. Request/response mechanisms and time/space relative pose concepts are used to control the flow of vehicles safely crossing the intersection. A communication scenario is established, and a “mesh/cellular” hybrid network configuration is proposed. Data is encoded, modulated and converted into light signals emitted by the transmitters. As receivers and decoders, optical sensors with light filtering properties, are used. Bidirectional communication between the infrastructure and the vehicles is tested, using the VLC request/response concept. Results show that the short-range mesh network ensures a secure communication from street lamp controllers to the edge computer through the neighbor traffic light controller with active cellular connection and enables peer-to-peer communication, to exchange information between V-VLC ready connected cars.
  • Cooperative self-localization and wayfinding services through visible light communication
    Publication . Vieira, Manuela; Vieira, Manuel Augusto; Louro, Paula; Fantoni, Alessandro; Vieira, Pedro
    A Visible Light Communication (VLC) cooperative system that supports guidance services and uses an edge/fog based architecture for wayfinding services is presented. The integrated dynamic navigation system consists of multiple transmitters (luminaries) which transmit the map information and path messages necessary for wayfinding. The luminaires used for downlink transmission are equipped with one of two types of controllers: mesh controllers or cellular controllers, which, respectively, forward messages to other devices in the vicinity or to the central manager. Mobile optical receivers, collect the data, extracts theirs location to perform positioning and, concomitantly, the transmitted data from each transmitter. Uplink transmission is implemented and the best route to navigate through venue calculated. Each luminaire, through VLC, reports its geographic position and specific information to the users, making it available for use. Bidirectional communication is implemented and the best route to navigate through venue calculated. Buddy wayfinding services are also considered. Results indicate that the system is able to perform not just the self-localization, but also infer the travel direction and interact with it, optimizing the route to a static or dynamic destination.